Pet peeves.(CLINICAL PEARLS)(opinions of physicians)(Column)

Several months ago, we published a column on "the words we hate to hear." For example, whenever a recovery room nurse calls and says, "Doctor, we're having trouble getting a blood pressure on your patient," that tends to get your adrenaline pumping! The great reader response gave me an idea for a related column.

We asked readers to send in "things that tick you off." Featured below are some of the more interesting responses we received.

If there are certain things that tick you off in your office or hospital, or if you have any thoughtful suggestions or "pearls" that might help with the following problems, please mail, fax, or e-mail them to me at the addresses given in the box at the end of this column.

The Last-Minute Phone Call

Here's a frustrating situation described by Dr. Scott L. Sinnott of West Lafayette, Ind.:

"Since my office is about a 15-minute drive from the hospital, I loathe the last-second call from the L & D nurse stating that my primigravida, who's been crawling through latent labor for the past 12 hours, is suddenly complete, and I'm needed immediately. On my arrival at the hospital, after missing the delivery, I find out that there was plenty of time for my patient to receive an epidural and make good progress in labor. It would be wonderful if someone would let me know about that rapid progress before it's too late. What do I have to do? Cancel my office once my pregnant patient reaches two centimeters? That really ticks me off!"

The Dueling Due Dates